Abbeys of Tuscany

Basilicas, Pievi, Abbeys, Monasteries and Hermitages of Tuscany

The
Dark Age
between the end of the Western Roman Empire and the High
Middle Ages is characterised by a dearth of written records. This means that the
early history of many of the Tuscan Abbeys, Basilicas, Monasteries, Hermitages
and Parish Churches throughout the
area now known as Tuscany
is not recorded and they make
their first documented appearance in the 10 C. Examination of the
structures themselves together with archaeological investigation shows that some of these
buildings have had a more or less
continuous physical existence since the time of Roman buildings on the same sites while
others originated during the dramatic population increase that occurred during
the High Middle ages. (This population increase peaked around 1250 and was
reversed by the Black Death that killed at least a quarter of
Europe's population between 1347 to 1350 - an estimated 25 million people.) In much of Europe, buildings were constructed of timber during the
Early Middle Ages, with a resurgence of stone construction for important buildings during
the 9 C. However, masonry construction was not extinguished in Italy during this
period so that many of the abbeys and churches of Tuscany contain elements that
are extremely old. This is in large part because straight timber was scarce
while stones suitable for building are plentiful: I should know - my campo is
still full of them.

Tuscan
Basilicas

• Basilica
of San Miniato al Montewas built beginning in 1018 on the site of a 4 C chapel. Together with the Bishop's Palace, the fortifications and the monumental cemetery, it stands at the top of the hill called Monte alle Croci
looking out over Piazzale Michelangelo and the city
of Florence. It is a magnificent example of Florentine Romanesque architecture that originally belonged to the Benedictine monks and was then passed to the Olivetan friars in 1373. To the right of the church is the Bishop's Palace (1295-1320), ancient summer residence of the bishops of Florence which then became a convent, a hospital and a Jesuit house.
Highly
recommended!

• Basilica
of Santa Maria all'Impruneta,
located on the main piazza of town
of Impruneta,
dates back to the 11C, but it has been rebuilt on several
occasions and has a splendid 13C bell-tower and a 14C cloister. Inside there are valuable paintings and sculptures on
display including 15C altar-steps and a 14C polyptych. The museum houses
sacred ornaments made of gold, furnishings, hangings, votive vases, sculptures made of silver and a precious series of crosses, one of which is attributed to
Ghiberti.

• Basilica of San
Domenico
of Perugia was erected by Giovanni Pisano in the
1304 in the town
of Perugia in Umbria (not Tuscany). Around the 1614
the vaults and pillars of the nave collapsed and after the reconstruction
by Carlo Madeno of Rome, the church was re consecrated in the 1632. Inside, there are
Gothic elements, Renaissance windows and the tomb of Pope Benedetto XI. The Archaeological Museum of the Umbria and the State
Archives are housed in the adjacent monastery and cloister.

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Tuscan
Mediaeval
Parish Churches (Pievi)

• La Pieve di
Sant'Appianonear
the town
of San Barberino Val d'Elsa was
built in early Romanesque times with a nave and two aisles with apses, a raised altar and crypt
below. The original part of the church can still be picked out in the left
aisle and in the small hanging arches of the external tribune. The bell tower was struck by lightning in 1171 and, in falling, destroyed almost all the right aisle of the church. It was reconstructed immediately, but in brick, a different material from the rest of the church and in late Romanesque style.
Adjacent is an excellent Museum.

• Pieve a Pacina
near the town
of Castelnuovo Berardenga, with its unusual cylindrical bell tower.
The majority of Tuscan parish churches date back to the period between the 9 C and the 13 C. Some however date back even earlier,
like the parish church of Pacina, which was probably built in the 7 C, if not
earlier.

• Pieve di Santa Maria alla Sovara
near
Anghiari
is one of an unusually high density of mediaeval parish churches in the
vicinity of the town
of Anghiari.
Among the others are the Pieve di Santa Maria a Corsano, the Pieve di Santa Maria a Micciano and the
Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine.

• Pieve di
San Donato a Mugnana is
located near the Castello
di Mugnana
by which it was once owned. The nearest town is Chiocchio
in Chianti
on the via Chiantigiana between Florence and Sienna. The church is mentioned in documents dating from the 12 C, but it was built in about the year
1000 and restored in Romanesque style in the 14 C. The interiors of the
church and rectory is richly decorated with frescos, paintings and
reliquaries.

Tuscan
Abbeys (Abbazie, Abbadie)

• Abbey of Sant'Antimo
is one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Italy and is located
in a wonderful setting 9 km from the town
of Montalcino
in the Valdorcia.It is possible that the Abbey of Sant'Antimo was constructed on the site of a Roman villa and it is known with certainty that in the 4th and 5th centuries the village of Castelnuovo dell'Abate, on the hills nearby, was an important inhabited centre, endowed with a parish.
Famous for the Gregorian chant of its monks. Highly
recommended!

• Abbey of
Montescalari or Abbazia
di San Cassiano a Montescalari is a huge former abbey situated in the woods of Monte
Scalari, between the valleys of the River Arno and the River Greve, in a
remote area somewhat difficult of access using an ordinary car. The
Badia dates from the 13 C although a religious establishment is
documented on the site from 1040. This Abbey is best reached from La
Panca.

• Abbazia
di Spineto
(Tenuta di Spineto) was founded by a legacy of Willa, widow of the count Pepone I of Sarteano, who donated the land and the forest of Spineto, and the hill of Moaine to Rodolfo of the
Abbey San Salvatore on Mount
Amiata.
At different times, the Abbey found itself under the protection of Orvieto, the
Republic
of Siena and the Grand
Duchy of Florence.
In 1627 was entrusted to the Cistercian Order by Pope
Urban VIII.
The abbey and farm houses on its estate have been restored and are now
holiday homes and a conference centre.

•
Badia a Passignano - Badia S. Michele di Passignano
founded by Sichelmo in 890. This magnificent abbey is best viewed from the road
between Montefioralle
and Sambuca.
If a monk is available, the interior can be visited on one Sunday per
month.

•
Abbey of San Galgano
is a spectacular ruined Cistercian gothic abbey located in the
Valley of the River Merse,
25 miles south-west of
Sienna
towards the town
of Grosseto. This
is a wonderful place to visit at any time and especially during summer.
In Addition to the aisle and naves, the chapter house is well-preserved
and there are still romantic ruins of the cloister. Try to be here before or after the tour buses. The
Hermitage of Montesiepi
(below) is within walking distance and should not be missed. Highly
recommended!

•
Abbey of Saints Severus and Matyrius
(Abbazia dei Santi Severo e Martirio)
located 3 km from Orvieto
(and hence in
Umbria, not in Tuscany) in beautiful surroundings.
It is now a hotel but retains its architectural features which fall into
three periods: the Romanesque-Longobard period of the 12 C (church and
tower). The Countess Matilde di Canossa built the church's dodecagon crenelated tower
in 1103.); Premonstratensian (Augustinian) period of around 1240
(Abbot's Palace and atrium of the church); Cistercian period from 1260.

• Badia
a Isola (Abbadia Isola)is a
Romanesque abbey located on the old Francigena
pilgrims' way
near the walled village of Monteriggioni.
Its strange name comes from being build on the only solid piece of land
in a large swamp or lake which has since dried out. The Abbey contains
some frescos and a famous altar by Taddeo di Bartolo. During the summer,
the surrounding flat fields are filled with sunflowers, making the walk
from Monteriggioni to Badia a Isola well worth doing.

• Abbey of Santa Mustiola
(Chiesa della Santissima Trinità e di Santa Mustiola,
first recorded in 1070) and its cloister (13-14 C) at
Torri,
Val di Merse.
This abbey is unique in Tuscany in having preserved the Romanesque character
of its cloisters despite subsequent
restorations.
The cloister is now the property of the Bicocchi family and may be visited on limited days of the week.
It is strikingly beautiful and should not be missed by anyone visiting
the Val di Merse. Highly
recommended!

Tuscan
Monasteries (Monasteri)

• Hermitage and Monastery of the Holy Saviour at Lecceto
- Augustinian, near Sovicille south of Sienna.
There is some evidence of an eremitical settlement here long before the "Little Union" of 1244. However, the first written record is dated 1223. At that time, the area was called "Selva di Lago" (Lake Woods) because of the forest around it and its location near Lake Verano. The hermitage was not Augustinian at the beginning, but when the community took part in the Little Union of 1244, they then assumed the Rule of St. Augustine and began a long history of Augustinian religious life. In time, the name changed too and became 'Lecceto' because of all the ilex trees
(lecce), a class of oak, that surround the monastery.

• Il
Certosa del Galluzzois a
majestic Carthusian (now Cistercian) monastery located a short distance
south of Florence. Although subject to extensive depredations over the
centuries, it still contains many works of art, not least being an
atmospheric cycle of frescoes by Pontormo. However, the measured
classicism of this Renaissance architectural assemblage plus a number of
works by the della Robbia family are the main reasons to visit and make
a tour.

• Certosa di Pontignano
near the Chianti
town of Castelnuovo Berardenga
and Sienna is a magnificent Carthusian Monastery founded in the 14 C. It
retains all the elements of Carthusian architecture with large cloisters,
individual monks cells each with a small garden, and a large church that still
preserves 14 C features. The church, the chapter and the refectory around the cloister, the real heart of the whole complex.

• Franciscan Convent of Santa Maria in Prato
near the town
of Radda in Chianti
originated in the Middle Ages, even though the main building and the adjoining convent today appear to be more 18 C.
In 1415 the convent was listed among the inhabitants of the Lega del Chianti. The convent existed until 1866 when it was abolished by the
government of newly unified Italy. In 1935 the complex was bought from the Province of Tuscany by the Sacre Stimmate dell'Ordine dei Frati
Minori, a Franciscan order residing there until 1974.

• Convento dell'
Osservanza
near the town
of Radicondoli
in the Province of Siena. The Convent, which has been well restored, goes back to the end of the 15 C. For four centuries, it was the home of a community of Franciscan Minor Friars devoted to strict Observance. Today
it provides houses the Centro Studi Etologici and the Ethoikos Society
which are engaged in ethological studies and teaching, while musical activities, including a music school, are provided by the Dulcimer Fondation pour la
Musique.

• Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie
(della Madonna del Sasso)
near the town
of Pontassieve
in the Province of Firenze. This oft-rebuilt sanctuary was first constructed in the
11 C on the site of a tabernacle, near to which it is said that between 1484 and 1485, the Virgin Mary appeared several times to a shepherdess. Inside,
there is a 17 C Virgin with Angels and Saints by Francesco Curradi and a
Crucifixion by Benedetto Velico that dates from 1600.

Tuscan
Hermitages (Eremi)

• Eremo di Santa Lucia - the ruined Hermitage of
Rosia located near Sovicille,
south of Siena. From the main road, the hermitage is located across a Roman bridge over the River Rosia
and along a cobblestoned Roman road surrounded by woods. It is cut into the hillside and consisted of a Gothic church, the friary, places for working and storage, a cloister roofed over on two sides and an
aqueduct for bringing fresh water to the residents. Of considerable
interest to keen Augustinians and enthusiasts for ancient remains.

• Hermitage of Montesiepi and the sword Saint Galgano
embedded in a stone. A great many tourists visit the evocative ruined Cistercian
Abbey
of Galgano (above) but for those interested in truly unusual and ancient
church architecture, this nearby circular church is of equal or greater
interest. The chapel interior is famous for its hemispheric vaulted
ceiling in concentric bichromatic rings created with brick and
travertine and for the sword of San Galgano thrust into a rock. There
are also traces of frescoes painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between 1334
and 1336. Highly
recommended!